2020 Issue

25 delivered a dynamic keynote address entitled, “When Cars Start Talking to Each Other, What Will They Say?” He outlined six trends that are increasing the need for auto- mated transportation; namely, he discussed demographic shifts, increasing availability of data, mobility as a service, advances in vehicle propulsion, network connections between vehicles, and automation through computers. He proposed that driverless cars will fundamentally impact transportation across our great state by increasing safety and reducing road fatalities. Blaine enumerated several efforts by UDOT to advance driverless cars. First, he mentioned how UDOT is promot- ing federal and state legislation, such as groundbreaking laws that allow autonomous driving in Utah. Second, he discussed automated shuttle piloting initiatives that have been successful in Salt Lake City, Sandy, Farmington, and the Canyons Resort. Third, he outlined studies to improve communication technology between Utah Transit Author- ity (UTA) buses and traffic signals. He showed how these efforts are paving the way toward bringing automated vehicles to Utah. Blaine began a career that has led to his expertise in automated vehicles by obtaining a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Master of Science (M.S.), both in Civil Engineer- ing, from the University of Utah. He worked for several consulting firms, including one he started, for 20 years. He moved to UDOT in 2001 and has worked on a wide variety of projects that include land development, office build - ings, prisons, landslides, earth dams, pipelines, roads and a cemetery. At the state, he is involved with research and technology about intelligent transportation systems. “My current role allows me to look to the future and envi- sion, plan and deploy transportation technologies that will transform how we move. As I do that, I stand on the shoulders of those who have brought us to this point,” said Blaine. “Our legislature, state agencies, our universities, and local tech companies are all engaged. It is daunting, it is confusing, it is promising, it is disruptive, and it is excit- ing. It is a global movement, and it is poised to transform our lives.” Blaine expressed great admiration for the UEC and its con- tributions to engineering in our state. “The unique oppor- tunity that the UEC provides is to gather a cross section of engineers from multiple disciplines to celebrate achieve- ment and inspire young students. It was great to see so many forward-looking engineers of the next generation, and to have UEC-supporters provide scholarships to help them meet their goals,” observed Blaine. The UEC extends its gratitude to Blaine Leonard, our key- note speaker, and to our committee members whose hard work — and dedication to the industry — helped make our 2020 Awards Banquet a success. For their extraordi- nary efforts, the UEC recognizes Jacob Browning, Paul White, Scott Pedler, Roberta Schlicher, Jed Lyman, Chris Perry, Carla Humes, JuliAne Burton, Cambria Flowers and Molly Stephens. Finally, the UEC extends a special thanks to our scholar- ship and banquet sponsors, namely: Nate Walkingshaw, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, FLSmidth, The newsLINK Group, VBFA, Charles Vono, Wheeler Machinery and Mon- sen Engineering, Midgley Huber, AIAA/INCOSE, Green- heck, Gritton Associates, APS, ASPE, and Long Building. with 2020 Awards Banquet